Identification of Competencies for Professional Staff of Academic Medical Libraries in Iran

Introduction : The definition of competencies is continuing to become more common in Library and Information Science (LIS). It is used for describing the library positions and the means of assessment. The main object of study was to determine the skills and knowledge that the academic medical librarians required for the emerging roles of medical librarianship in Iran and to find out their education and training needs. Methodology : A survey method was used for gathering data. A structured questionnaire, listing 60 competency statements, which covered six areas, was designed after an extensive literature review. The structured questionnaires were sent to all academic medical sciences departments in Iran, those who had at least an undergraduate or Master’s degree in Library Science throughout the country. A total number of 165 questionnaires were returned and went under analysis. Results : The results of study indicated that the essential competencies which were expected from Iranian academic medical librarians with Bachelor’s degree qualification were “general-and personal competencies”. In addition, “health science reference and information services competencies” were recognized as the second most important competencies for academic medical librarians with Bachelor’s degree qualifications. However, the priority for academic medical librarians with a Master’s degree qualification was “management theory and techniques competencies”. The other priorities were “Health sciences reference and information services competencies”. Conclusion: The study concluded that the confirmed competencies can be used for the assessment and adjustment of the curricula of formal education programs of medical librarianship in Iran

Scientific profiles in the field of female genital mutilation/cutting

Introduction: Females genital mutilation/Cutting is a harmful traditional procedure disturbing the health of girls and women. It has a continuing sexual, physiological and psychological influence on women health life. The objective of current study was to visualize and analyze the global scientific activities in the field of female genital mutilation/Cutting during a period of 15 years through 2001-2015. Methodology: A Scientometric analysis was carried out to depict the global activities towards scientific production in the field of female genital mutilation/cutting during a period of 15 years. The Core Collection of Web of Science database was employed to extract all papers indexed as a topic of female genital mutilation/cutting through 2001-2015. The Science of Science Tool was used to map the co-authorship network of papers in the field. Results: Analysis of data showed that, although the number of papers in the field of female genital mutilation/cutting was not remarkable, but it steady increased through the period of study, so that the number of papers in 2015 was two times greater than those in 2006. English consisting 94% of total publication was the language of publications. The vast majority of publication type was in the form of journal articles (65%). Based on the Bradford Scatterings law the journal of “International of Gynecology Obstetrics” was the most productive journal. USA, England and Australia were the most productive countries in the field. Conclusion: The study concluded that the research activities in the field of FGM/C regarding to the number of circumcised women in the world was very small and insufficient. The psychological aspects of FGM/C have been neglected by the scientists as well as the women health organizations

Breast cancer publication network: profile of co-authorship and co-organization

Introduction: Breast cancer is one of the highest reasons of deaths for people in the world. The objective of current study is to analyze and visualize the trend of global scientific activities in the field of breast cancer during a period of 10 years through 2006-2015. Methods: The current study was performed by utilizing the scientometrics analysis and mapping the co-authorship and co-organization networks. The Web of Science Core Collection (WoS-CC)database was used to extract all papers indexed as a topic of breast cancer through 2006 to 2015. Research productivity was measured through analysis several parameters, including: the number and time course of publications, the journal and language of publications, the frequency and type of publications, as well as top 20 active sub-categories together with country contribution. The extracted data were transferred into the Excel charts and plotted as diagrams. The Science of Science (Sci2) and CiteSpace softwares were used as tools for mapping the co-authorship and co-organization networks of the published papers. Results: Analysis of data indicated that the number of publications in the field of breast cancer has linearly increased and correlated with the time-course of the study. The number of publication indexed in WoS-CC in 2015 was two times greater than that of 2006, which reached from 15 229 documents in 2006 to 30 667 documents in 2015. English Language accounted for 98% of total publications as the most dominant language. The vast majority of publications' type was in the form of original journal articles (64.7%). Based on Bradford scatterings law, the journal of "Cancer Research" was the most productive journal among the core journals, while the USA, China, and England were the most prolific countries in the field. The co-organization network indicated the dominant role of Harvard University in the field. Conclusion: The integrity of network indicated that scientists in the field of breast cancer working collaboratively to tackle the number one threat in women health

Job-Burnout among medical librarians

Introduction: Job-burnout is a psychological expression for describing the experiment of negative attitude, morale and behavior when people face work-related stressors. It affects the physical, emotional and mental exhaustion, associate with suspicions about individuals’ competence and the value of their work. Methods: A total number of 40 librarians working in the libraries of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Iran, were chosen as the population of study. Two types of questionnaires were distributed among participants. First, the factors affecting the job-burnout; second the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) for measuring the job-burnout scales among librarians. Results: The study showed that the highest frequencies of job-burnout dimensions among librarians were from the high level of emotional-exhaustion and depersonalization and low level of personal-performance and involvement. Conclusion: Analysis of data concluded that the university librarians believe, the low level of wages and benefits, the low status of librarians’ profession in the society, the deficiency of promotion and occupation advancement, and incorrect assessment of the librarians' job performance, has the most influence on the job-burnout among librarians